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Comic Art

The “comics” or “funnies” can offer us a daily bit of humor and entertainment in the face of our otherwise regulated and monotonous existence. A comic artist’s success at creating laughter is a feat in itself. An artist who also inspires a resonating message should be celebrated as rarity.

The variety of comic strip themes and genres respond to different and individual interests. They offer opportunities for jokes, extended soap opera series, self-contained messages, political humor, different realities, and educational tidbits of history and historical fact. Most also offer some form of implicit or explicit commentary on real life. All comics help us understand the thinking of at least one person in a particular era, and help us piece together underlying personal and national, political and societal perceptions and leanings.

American cartoonists, whose works were originally seen primarily in the newspapers beginning at the turn of the 20th century, emulated and expanded upon a mostly European comic art tradition, including the art of the caricature. By the 1920s two American innovations had greatly expanded the readership of the newspaper comic: the use of the paper mache printing matrix, made from photomechanical reproductions of the artists’ original art (this enabled the quick and inexpensive national and international transport of text and imagery for a newspaper page), and the syndication of comic art, that is, the business of selling and internationally distributing an artists’ work.

A mid-20th century look at a golden age of comics offers a broad spectrum of the points of view of that era which included dramatic change. The artists whose works played a distinctive part in this time have left us their representations of it which we hope, now after fifty years, will allow us a deeper understanding of their message.

Additionally, the use of comic imagery in different media, in the comic book, in television, and in film has offered a look at variations of the same comic themes, and has offered other lenses through which can decipher the same subject and message.

The Museum’s Graphic Arts Collection houses some nine hundred original and reproductive comic art drawings representing over 375 artists and some four hundred titles including Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy, Peanuts, Wonder Woman, and many others. The collection contains works from as early as the 1910s and as recently as 2000. The comic formats include “gag-a-days,” soap operas, and science fiction and adventure tales.

The following collection group features examples of original drawings prepared by a variety of artists. The camera-ready pen and ink strips and panels were prepared by original artists for daily and Sunday American, and in some cases, internationally published newspapers.

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This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Fred Basset comic strip shows Fred upset because his “Best of Breed” trophy has been put away and forgotten in a closet. The drawing includes the date "9-14" and is presumed to date from about 1966.

Alexander S. Graham (1913-1991) was a Scottish artist who created the comic strips Wee Hughie,Our Bill, and Briggs the Butler for British newspapers between the 1940s and 1960s. Graham debuted Fred Basset in 1963. The strip was syndicated and distributed to international audiences.

Fred Basset (1963- ) was about the daily life of a Basset Hound who communicated with comic strip readers, but not with his owner. Many times the strip's humor was the result of Fred's thought-commentary about mundane activities, such as trying to catch some table scraps or following his owner on a round of golf. The strip was continued after Graham's death in 1991 by his daughter Arran. It is currently being prepared by artist Michael Martin, with consultation by Graham's daughter.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Garfield comic strip shows the title character explaining the best things about cats.

James Robert "Jim" Davis (1945- ) first worked at an advertising agency before transitioning into comics. Beginning in 1969, he assisted Tumbleweeds artist Tom K. Ryan. Davis later created a short-lived strip called Gnorm Gnat, which was only syndicated in one Indiana newspaper. In 1978 he launched Garfield for United Features and created one of the most popular animals in the comic world. Garfield has been represented in books, films, television specials, video games, amusement park attractions, and merchandise. Davis continues to write Garfield today.

Garfield (1978- ) is a comic strip which looks at the life of the title character, a tabby cat, as well as a beagle named Odie, and their owner, Jon Arbuckle. Appearing in newspapers around the world, the strip’s international popularity is the result of non-topical and apolitical humor, and a simple story. The character Garfield is lazy and fat, and usually presents a disdainful attitude towards everything. He is often seen harassing Odie, his happily naïve housemate. Garfield also looks down on his owner, Jon, because of Jon's inability to get a date or benefit from social situations. Dr. Liz Wilson, Garfield’s veterinarian, was introduced in the second year of the strip’s run. She became Jon's romanic interest. In 2006, Jon and Liz began dating and then became engaged.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for Buck Rogers shows Feather explaining to Captain Rogers how he used humor and essentially acted as a court jester to trick Modar and Futura into letting him into the palace to spy on the criminals.

Murphy Anderson (1926- ) began working as a comic book artist in 1944, drawing strips such as Suicide Smith and Star Pirate. In 1947 he took over the Buck Rogers newspaper strip after original artist Dick Calkins retired, but he left the strip two years later to return to comic books. Anderson returned to drawing Buck Rogers in 1958 but for less than a year.

Buck Rogers (1929-1967, 1979-1983) was an adventure strip inspired by a story entitled “Armageddon 2419 AD,” which appeared in a 1928 issue of Amazing Stories magazine. The strip debuted with a storyline similar to that of the magazine where the hero, a young man named Anthony Rogers, wakes up five hundred years in the future, after a gas-induced sleep, to an America being ruled by evil overlords. Rogers is then recruited by the resistance, and begins his work fighting aliens, robots, and other villains. The strip was canceled in 1967 but was restored in 1979, as a television series, a comic book version, a feature film, and a comic strip.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Marmaduke single-panel daily comic strip shows the Great Dane upset because Phil Winslow, his owner, has put ice in his daughter Barbara’s water, but not in his own water.

Brad Anderson (1924- ) began his career as a comic artist selling some of his cartoon art to an aviation magazine while still in high school. After college and four years' service in the U.S. Navy, Anderson began working in advertising and prepared freelance drawings for magazine cartoons in 1953. His creation Marmaduke was debuted in newspapers across the country in 1954. Today Anderson continues to draw Marmaduke with the help of his son.

Marmaduke (1954- ) is a newspaper daily panel and Sunday comic strip. The title character is a Great Dane belonging to the Winslow family, including husband and wife, Phil and Dottie, and two children, Barbara and Billy. The running theme involves the human characteristics of the title character, which contribute to the household's general unease and confusion.

This pen-and-ink drawing for the Li’l Abner newspaper strip shows the general frenzy associated with fast-approaching Sadie Hawkins Day.

Alfred Gerald Caplin or Al Capp (1909-1979) began drawing comics in his youth after a serious accident which required a leg amputation. He attended art schools and in the early 1930s was given the opportunity to introduce a new character, named Big Leviticus, to the newspaper strip Joe Palooka. Inspired by his work with Ham Fisher on the strip, Capp began developing his own strip, called Li’l Abner, a look at a fictitious, backward mountain culture. The strip debuted in 1934 and was shortly syndicated worldwide. Capp, like other comic artists, used his strip to comment on cultural shortcomings and prejudices.

Li’l Abner (1934-1977) was a satirical comic strip about a hillbilly clan living in fictional Dogpatch, Arkansas. The title character was a large, simple, naïve, and good-hearted individual. The character Li'l Abner also spent the better part of two decades evading the affections of Daisy Mae Scraggs, whose family was the sworn enemy of his family, the Yokums. Eventually, Capp yielded to readers’ wishes and married Li’l Abner and Daisy Mae in 1952. The strip's storyline included the fabrication of Sadie Hawkins Day, the annual event which allowed women the opportunity to literally catch a husband.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the single-panel comic Our Boarding House shows Martha Hoople listening to ways to be more efficient with finances, even at the expense of further difficiencies in the quality of her service.

Les Carroll (around 1910- ) began his career as a background animator for Fleischer Studios in the 1930s. As a staff artist for the Newspaper Enterprise Association, he transitioned to comic book artwork, and then in 1945, he created his first syndicated comic strip, The Tillers, which ran until 1960. Afterward, Carroll took over the Boots and her Buddies strip after creator Abe Martin died. In 1971 Carroll began drawing Our Boarding House, which he continued until the end of the strip’s run in 1984.

Our Boarding House (1921-1984) was a daily panel comic starring Martha Hoople, who didn't accept any disrespectful behavior from her boarders. Creator Gene Ahern was known for his "screwball comedy" style of cartooning and writing. After a series of short-lived strips, he developed Our Boarding House. At about four months into the run, Major Hoople, Martha’s estranged husband, was introduced. Major Hoople was an irritable, old man whose stuffy attitude made for some of the strip’s most memorable scenes. He eventually became the most popular character in the strip, to the point where many people began referring to the strip by his name. Major Hoople was eventually adapted for a radio show and a comic book in 1943.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Mr. Magoo comic strip shows the title character during his weekly visit with nephew Waldo. Waldo appears behind a barred window and Magoo thinks he’s in jail. Magoo asks if he can help break Waldo out. The last panel reveals the two in a post office where Magoo addresses a passing postman by saying “Good day, officer.”

Peter J. Alvarado, Jr. (1920-2003) drew the Mr. Magoo newspaper comic strip between 1964 and 1966. Alvarado’s other work includes collaborations on Roy Rogers,Gene Autry, and other strips for which he drew under the pen name Al McKimson. Alvarado, well known for his animation work, provided artwork for Disney, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera between the late 1930s and the early 1990s.

Mr. Magoo (1964-1966) was based on the animated film short cartoon of the same name, originally developed by the United Productions of America studios in 1949. The central figure, Quincy Magoo, is a wealthy retiree who spends much of his time with his nephew Waldo. The storyline humor is mainly the result of the title character’s extreme nearsightedness. The Mr. Magoo character is said to have been based on film actor W.C. Fields. Some of the strip's messages are also said to represent protests against McCarthy-era activities.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for The Flintstones comic strip shows Fred using his vehicle to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste in the tube.

Gene Hazelton (1919-2005) worked as both an animator and a newspaper comic artist. In 1939 he was hired by Walt Disney Studios and contributed animation drawings to films such as Fantasia and Pinocchio. After the 1941 animators’ strike at Disney, Hazelton worked for Robert Clampett at Warner Bros., as well as for Hanna-Barbera at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. During the 1950s Hazelton worked as a freelance illustrator and in the process developed his first newspaper comic panel called Angel Face. Beginning in 1961, and for over two decades, he served as the chief illustrator for both The Flintstones and the Yogi Bear newspaper strips for Hanna-Barbera, and assisted with the studio's The Jetsons.

The Flintstones (1961-1988) was a comic strip that was adapted from a television series. The show ran for six seasons between 1960 and 1966. It was the first animated evening series on network television, and until The Simpsons, the most financially successful one. The television show and the strip dealt with family issues in a prehistoric setting.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Batman comic strip shows a man dying and requesting that Batman deliver a message, in the form of a poem, to a girl he once held prisoner. When Batman and Robin question his sanity, the man says he hates everything about Batman.

Robert Kahn, regularly using the pseudonym Bob Kane (1915-1998), started work as a comic artist at the Eisner and Iger Studio in New York City. In 1938 he began working for publishers Action Comics and DC Comics. In 1938 Kane teamed up with Bill Finger to create Batman. Kane drew the Batman strip and Batman comic books until the mid-1940s. In the 1960s he assisted with the television show Courageous Cat and consulted on various Batman adaptations.

Batman (1943-1946, 1966-1974, 1989-1991) started its comic strip run, originally under the name Batman and Robin, a few years after its debut in comic books. The strip had three separate runs in American newspapers. The first was drawn and written by Bob Kane, and others. The second drew inspiration from the Batman television show. It was credited to Kane, but was actually created by a team of other artists. The third run was drawn by Carmine Infantino and published for two years.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for The Family Circus comic strip shows the family's children thinking that their mother’s tears, a result of cutting onions, are a response to something they've done wrong.

William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (1922-2011) began his comic art career while still a teenager. During his service in the Army, between 1942 and 1945, he drew cartoons for Yank, the Army Weekly and Stars and Stripes. After the war, he worked for The Philadelphia Bulletin where he developed the strip Silly Philly, a Sunday strip based on the life of William Penn. Keane's work could also be seen in the Channel Chuckles television cartoon, which ran from 1954 to 1977. In 1960, after he and his family settled in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Keane debuted The Family Circus. Keane served as the president of the National Cartoonist Society during the 1980s.

The Family Circus (1960- ) is a single-panel daily and Sunday comic known for its distinctive, circular presentation. The panel was inspired by creator Bil Keane’s own life and experiences as a husband and parent. More recently The Family Circus, now written and drawn by Bil Keane’s son Jeff, has achieved international popularity.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dennis the Menace comic strip shows Henry doing yard work and Dennis helping, but hindering, his father’s work.

Henry King "Hank" Ketcham (1920-2001) left the University of Washington in 1938 to pursue a career in animation. He soon began working for Universal Studios with Lantz Productions, where he worked on various film shorts such as Donald Duck. During World War II Ketcham served in the U.S. Navy where he developed a strip called Half Hitch. After the war Ketcham worked as a freelance artist, and in 1951 he debuted Dennis the Menace and continued to draw it until his retirement in 1995.

Dennis the Menace (1951- ) is a comic strip about the antics of a mischievous five-year-old boy named Dennis Mitchell. Dennis is well-meaning but extremely curious and, as a result, often finds himself in trouble. Often at the receiving end of Dennis’s mischief is the Mitchells' neighbor, Mr. Wilson, who mostly sees Dennis as interfering with his retirement. The Mitchell parents, Henry and Alice, are regularly seen trying to explain their child’s behavior, to the best of their abilities. The strip has remained popular over its run. At the peak of its popularity it was published in some fifty countries. Though creator Hank Ketcham died in 2001 after leaving the strip to his assistants, it is still signed in Ketcham's name.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Brenda Starr comic strip shows Brenda engaging in deception in order to investigate her story, while using her colleague Kelly as her agent.

Dalia "Dale" Messick (1906-2005), a female comic artist, changed her name from Dalia in order to be recognized for her work, and to fit societal norms. The strip about an adventurous female reporter was debuted in 1940. Its popularity came with industry criticism, particularly from women journalists who reacted to the artist's embellishments of the profession. Nonetheless Messick produced the strip until 1980 and then began developing other comic strips for local publications in California.

Brenda Starr (1940-2011) was a comic strip that portrayed the life of a contemporary female newspaper reporter. The title character was shown in adventurous stories at work and at home. She participated in persistent journalism and dramatic romances. After many years Brenda married her periodical love interest, Basil St. John. The story was eventually recreated as a television movie in 1976 and as a film in 1992.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the single-panel daily comic Big George shows George learning how to play the ukulele using the key-tuning phrase “My Dog Has Fleas.”

Virgil Franklin "Vip" Partch (1916-1984) began his career in 1937 illustrating for Walt Disney Studios. He is known for his participation in the 1941 Disney animators’ strike, and as a result of his participation, never returned to work for the company. Before his service in the U.S. Army Partch assisted Walter Lantz on the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. This prewar work assisted his transfer to his position as the art director and cartoonist for the weekly military magazine Panorama. After he left the army, Partch began freelancing and published books containing single-panel cartoons. In 1960 he created Big George, the strip that became his biggest success.

Big George (1960-1990) was a comic strip featuring family humor. The title character, much like other comic-strip husbands, was often neglected or ridiculed by the rest of his family. The daily version of the comic was usually shown in a single-panel format, but with the debut of the Sunday page a few years later, in the early 1960s, it took on a more traditional strip form. Partch died unexpectedly in 1984 as a result of a car crash.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Captain Easy comic strip shows the title character enjoying the fictitious Mediterranean Republic of Dizmaylia with his date, Lolita. He later discovers that she works for his enemies.

Leslie Turner (1899-1988) prepared freelance illustrations in Dallas in his early years. When he sold a cartoon to Judge, he moved to New York and began contributing to publications such as Redbook and Pictorial Review. In 1937 Turner took a job as an assistant to Roy Crane, creator of the Captain Easy newspaper strip, which was then called Wash Tubbs. Turner took over the strip in 1943 and continued to draw it, with some assistance from Walt Scott, until he retired in 1970.

Captain Easy, (1933-1988) an adventure strip originally called Wash Tubbs, starred an eccentric character named Washington Tubbs II. The Captain Easy character was included in a supporting role. In 1933 creator Roy Crane retitled the strip and remodeled it to highlight the new protagonist who joined the U.S. army during World War II, and later became a private detective.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Little Orphan Annie comic strip shows Annie using baseball expressions to describe her friend Sinya’s ease in getting dates.

Harold Lincoln Gray (1894-1968) started working for newspapers in Lafayette, Indiana, when he attended Purdue University. After serving in World War I he took a job at the Chicago Tribune, where he drew the lettering for Sidney Smith’s strip The Gumps. In 1924 Gray launched Little Orphan Otto, later changed to Little Orphan Annie. Over the years, Gray often prepared artwork for various Sunday strips including Little Orphan Annie and others, such as the topper strip Maw Green.

Little Orphan Annie (1924-1974, 1979-2010) is a rags-to-riches story about a redheaded girl who was adopted by millionaire Daddy Warbucks. The strip was known for its promotion of characteristics such as self-sufficiency and hard work. Gray took advantage of a storyline that involved the recurring separation and reunion of the protagonists. The Little Orphan Annie story found additional success as a radio program, films, and in the Broadway musical Annie, introduced in 1977.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Tiffany Jones comic strip shows the title character beaming about becoming recognized shortly before she meets up with boyfriend Guy. The drawing includes the date "11-26" and is presumed to date from about 1966.

British comic artist Patricia Tourret (1929- ) attended the Harrow Art School in London before she started her career as a freelance illustrator. In collaboration with writer Jenny Butterworth, Tourret created the comic strip Tiffany Jones for British newspapers the Daily Sketch and the Daily Mail. The strip was internationally syndicated. Tourret also illustrated for children’s and educational books.

Tiffany Jones (1964-1977) was a comic strip about the adventures of a model who also happened to work as a secret agent. The character's good looks enabled her to easily retrieve information from the enemy. The strip-to-film adaptation debuted in 1973.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Rex Morgan, M.D. comic strip sees Luci Moreland about to move away to start a new job at a hospital. Tony Grand asks his brother Joey to give her a ride and attempts to persuade her to stay.

Marvin Bradley (1913-1986) was a comic artist who provided artwork for many strips including Kerry Drake,Mary Worth, and Speed Spaulding. In 1948 he worked with background artist Frank Edgington to draw Rex Morgan, M.D., the strip that made them both famous. Bradley drew the strip until 1978, and then served as a consultant until his retirement in 1984.

Rex Morgan, M.D. (1948- ) was created by Ohio-based psychiatrist Nicholas Dallis (1911-1991), who used the pseudonym Dal Curtis. Dallis wrote the strip based on his experience in the medical profession. He was persuaded to find a storyline to make the subject palatable. He used the young and handsome doctor named Rex Morgan, who often became involved with his patients, as a vehicle for his medical stories. Despite its heavy dramatization, the strip allowed the introduction of medical subjects that were instructional to the public.

This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Nancy comic strip shows the title character finding a chair in a tree, and discovering that Sluggo has put it there anticipating a new drive-in theater.

Ernest Paul Bushmiller Jr. (1905-1982) dropped out of school at an early age to start work as a copyboy for the New York World. In 1925 artist Larry Whittington ask him to take over Fritzi Ritz, a comic strip about a young, affluent actress. When Bushmiller took over the strip, he introduced Fritzi’s niece, Nancy, whose popularity resulted in a change in the comic strip title to Nancy in 1938. Bushmiller also worked on a spin-off cartoon called Phil Fumble, about Fritzi’s boyfriend.

The comic strip Nancy (1938- ) came about because of a retitling of its predecessor Fritzi Ritz. By 1938 the character Nancy had superseded the character Fritzi’s popularity, and the focus of the strip shifted to Nancy and her friend Sluggo. In time additional characters were added to the cast, including Sluggo’s irritable neighbor, Mr. McOnion, and Oona Goosepimple, a girl who lived in a haunted house.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Mark Trail comic strip shows the title character indoors, trying to prepare his camera, while Andy, his St. Bernard dog, escapes under the fence.

Edward Benton Dodd (1902-1991) was a comic artist with an active enthusiasm for nature and the outdoors. Dodd learned how to write and draw in his home state, Georgia, while working as a camp counselor for Dan Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts. In the 1920s, after his student years, Dodd created the comic Back Home Again, about a hillbilly family from Georgia. The comic ran until 1945. Dodd then launched Mark Trail in 1946 and drew it until 1978.

Mark Trail (1946- ) was an outdoor-themed comic strip starring a wildlife photographer. The title character's job and home life, in Lost Forest National Park, allowed his creator an opportunity to incorporate his own heartfelt appreciation of wildlife and strong environmental messages into the strip. In the 1940s and 1950s Mark Trail was adapted as a radio show and a comic book series.

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Henry comic strip shows the title character becoming excited when he thinks a window painting reads free ice cream. But after telling his friends and bringing them back to enjoy the ice cream, he realizes the painter hadn’t finished painting the sign.

Carl Thomas Anderson (1865-1948) was a carpenter before he was an artist. He received formal art training in Philadelphia and in 1890 was offered a job with The New York World, where he launched a strip for the Sunday comics called Little Filipino and the Chick. William Randolph Hearst then hired Anderson to work for the New York Journal. Anderson transitioned into freelancing and carpentry during the Great Depression. In 1932 Anderson's work on Henry was accepted by the Saturday Evening Post. The strip was an immediate success, and Anderson continued drawing the strip until his death in 1948.

Henry (1932-1995, dailies, 1935-2005, Sundays) had its beginnings as a successful Depression-era comic strip, especially because of its recognizable lead character. Henry's childlike characteristics including his large, bald head, round belly, and stocky limbs were strengthened by his limited script. Henry was seen in a Fleischer Studios' short film, where Henry actually spoke, and in color comic books between 1946 and 1961. Henry is still shown in classic reruns across the country.